Philip newton



(No Model.\

P. NEWTON.

FORK.

Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

Wilgzsscs o'ro-umo. WASHINGTON. a c,

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica,

PHILIP'NEWVTON, OF GRAND HARBOR, CANADA.

FORK.

SPECIFICATIONformingpart of Letters Patent No. 567,194, dated September8, 1896.

Application filed April 20, 1895.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILIP NEWTON, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Grand Harbor, in the Province of New Brunswick andDominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Fork, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to culinary utensils,

and particularly to a fork adapted for cooking purposes, as inplacingarticles inand removing the same from vessels, the object-in Viewbeing to provide a simple and readilymanipulated device having duplicateforked members adapted to grasp an article by bearing, respectively,uponopposite sides thereof, the pressure necessary to hold said articlebeing applied either by means of the grasp of the operator upon thehandles or by spring action.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooking-forkconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a centrallongitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of therear portions of the handle members. Fig. 4 is a detail transversesection through the front ends of the handle members to illustrate themanner of securing the fork-shanks to said members.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawmgs.

The handle, which embodies the essential feature of my invention,comprises opposite handle members 1, which are bowed inwardly or towardeach other at their centers and are pivotally connected by means of ears2, said handle members diverging from this pivotal point toward theirfront and rear extremities to form front and rear grips, the entirelength of the handle, including said front "and rear grips, beingapproximately equal to the width of the hand of an operator, whereby theoperator by contracting the rear portion of the hand, as by the thirdand fourth fingers, may force the rear extremities of the handle memberstoward each other to open the front extremities of said handle members,or by con- Serial No. 546,506. (No model.)

tracting the front portion of the hand, as by the index and secondfingers, the front portions of the handle members may be pressed towardeach other to spread the rear portions. The rear extremities of the reargrips, or those portions of the handle members which are 10- cated inrear of the pivotal point, are preferextremities of the handle membersin contact,

as shown in Fig. 1. In order to form comfortable exterior bearing-s11rfaces for the handle members and at the same time secure a lightconstruction, I preferably form the handle members of cross-sectionallyconcavo-convex strips of metal or its equivalent, as clearly illustratedin Fig. 3.

Any desired construction of engaging members may be employed inconnection with the handle above described, but in the construction.illustrated the fork-shanks 5, which carry the tongues 8, are attached,respectively, to the handle members and are adapted to lie in contactwhen the handle members are in their normal. or closed position. Asimple form of connection between the shanks of the engaging devices andthe extremities of the handle members is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4,wherein said front extremities 'of the handle members are longitudinallychanneled to form cross-sectionally dovetailed grooves or seats in whichare fitted the extremities 6 of the shanks, threaded fastening-pins 7being extended through the front ends of the handle members to engagethe extremities of the shanks and prevent longitudinal displacement.

From the above description it will be seen that by reason of .thedeflection or divergence of the handle members in front and in rear oftheir pivotal point of connection the engaging devices carried,respectively, by the handle members may be either separated or swungtoward each other to release or engage an article by pressure,respectively, upon the rear or front grips comprising said handlemembers, and hence the device may be operated without the use of theclosing-spring 4:, but I prefer to use said spring, the same being oflight tension, in order to hold the engaging members of the device intheir contracted or closed position when the utensil is not in use.

By constructing the engaging devices independently of the handle, whichforms the essential feature of my invention, and detachably securing theshanks of said devices, respectively, to the handle members, a brokenmember of the engaging devices may be replaced at a small cost withoutafiecting the efficiency of the handle.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A handle havingopposite members pivotally connected approximately at their centers toform front and rear grips arranged respectively in front and in rear ofthe said point of connection, whereby the hand which grasps the handleis adapted to contract either the front or the rear portion of thehandle by pressure applied either in front or in rear of the point ofconnection, in combination with engaging devices carried respectively bythe handle members, substantially as specified.

2. A handle comprising opposite members pivotally connectedapproximately at their centers to form front and rear grips arrangedrespectively in front and in rear of the point of connection, saidhandle members being bowed inwardly or toward each other at theircenters to form deflected or divergent front and rear portions, wherebythe hand which grasps the handle may compress either the front or therear grips to swing the handle 'members in opposite directions, andmeans for limiting the inward movement of the rear extremities of thehandle members, in combination with engaging devices carriedrespectively by the handle members and projecting forwardly from thefront extremities of said members, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of a handle comprising opposite members pivotallyconnected approximately at their centers and having front and rear gripsarranged respectively in front and in rear of the pivotal point ofconnection, whereby the handle members may be swung in oppositedirections by pressure applied respectively to the front and rear grips,the front extremities of the handle members being longitudinallychanneled to form dovetailed grooves or seats, and an actuatingspringinterposed between the rear portions of the handle members, to normallyhold the front extremities thereof in contact, with engaging deviceshaving cross-sectionally dovetailed extremities fitting removably insaid seats or grooves, and fastening-pins engaging said extremities ofthe shanks and the contiguous portions of the handle members to preventaccidentallongitudinal displacement of the engaging devices,substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP NEWTON. \Vitnesses:

ARTHUR A. LEARY, DELLA N. LEARY.

